What Makes You So Great?

Speaker:
Series:

The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them.  People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 2 Samuel 16:7

What gives a person significance? Is it his age, his worth, her image, or her accomplishments?

In some cultures, wisdom and significance come with age.  “No, net worth is the measure of a man,” a company CEO might say.  Image and influence, the celebrity posts while the pragmatist would say, “Show me what a person has done.”

How does God view us?  What measure does He use in determining the true measure of a person?  You can start with these words from Scripture: “O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

God’s perspective is certainly a different perspective from ours. “People judge by outward appearance,” the Bible explains it clearly, “but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).  We put the emphasis on doing, on accomplishment; God puts it on being, on my character.  Consider this:  Who you are is far more important than what you will ever do, whether you’re the leader of the world’s most powerful nation or push a broom sweeping the streets in the smallest city.

The quickest way to tell who I am, is to watch how I treat others. Yes, the starting point is to treat others as I’d like to be treated, but here are some specifics from scripture: “Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another (Ephesians 4:32), and “Always consider one another as more important that yourself” (Philippians 2:3).

What gives a person significance?  “The measure of a man,” said Dwight L. Moody, “is not how many servants he has but how many men he serves.” [1]

[1] Moody, D. L. (n.d.). Top 25 measure of a man quotes (of 59): A-Z quotes. Retrieved June 8, 2022, from https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/measure-of-a-man.html